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The Cavs have learned that to get good wings, you need to draft them

By Justin Brownlow

Cleveland Cavaliers head coach J.B. Bickerstaff talks with Cleveland wing Isaac Okoro in-game. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
Cleveland Cavaliers head coach J.B. Bickerstaff talks with Cleveland wing Isaac Okoro in-game. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) /
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Isaac Okoro, Cleveland Cavaliers. (Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images) /

The Cleveland Cavaliers have had a pretty good offseason, according to most NBA followers. They re-signed center Jarrett Allen on a five-year, $100 million deal. They also added Evan Mobley to the team with the third pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. Finally, the Cavs seemed to have closed out their offseason by acquiring Lauri Markkanen from the Chicago Bulls via sign-and-trade.

While the Cavs now have one of the deepest frontcourts in the NBA, they did not add any wing players this offseason; they are reportedly still considering doing so, though. But either way, most of the best players in the game today, are wing players. Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and even Khris Middleton showed during the 2021 NBA Playoffs that wing players are essential to winning in the NBA.

Wings on the Cavs roster

It is no secret that the Cavs wanted to add some shooting to the team this offseason. There were rumors swirling all summer about the team possibly adding guys like Josh Hart and Talen Horton-Tucker. However, the team was not able to add either of those players. To make matters worse at the wing spot, while he is more so a big, Larry Nance Jr. was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers in the deal that brought Markkanen to the Cavs.

The only viable wing players on the roster at this point are 2020 first-round pick Isaac Okoro, Cedi Osman, the oft-injured Dylan Windler, and possibly Markkanen; he is a 4 naturally, though.

Okoro and Osman combined only averaged 20 points per game, and they both shot 29 and 31 percent from beyond the arc. Windler himself, has only played in 31 NBA games in his career, and has earned zero starts through two seasons. There is a case to be made that the Cavaliers have the worst wing players in the entire league.

Markkanen will be forced to play on the wing at times, and that might help the team overall. He averaged over 15 points per game last year, while shooting 40 percent from three-point range.